Arab Political Systems: Baseline Information and Reforms – Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
At A GlancePopulation, July 2006 est. / 27,601,038 (including 5,576,076 non-citizens)
GDP Per Capita (PPP), 2006 est. / $13,800
Human Development Index Rank, UNDP, 2006 / 76 (out of 177 countries)
Freedom House Rating, 2006 / Not Free
Political Rights / 7
Civil Liberties / 7
Freedom of the Press Rank, Freedom House, 2006 / 172 (out of 194 countries)
Corruption Index Rank, Transparency International, 2007 / 79 (out of 180 countries)
Gender Empowerment Rank, UNDP, 2004 / 77 (out of 78 countries)
Updates and Forthcoming Events 2
State Institutions/ Separation of Powers 3
Executive Branch 3
Legislative Branch 5
Judiciary 5
Local Government 9
Rights 10
Personal Liberties 10
Legislation Regulating the Exercise of Rights 10
Recent Government Initiatives Affecting Rights 13
Political Forces 15
Political Parties 15
Civil Society 15
Election Results 17
Constitutional Revision 18
Corruption 19
Ratification of International Conventions 20
Updates and Forthcoming Events
· Saudi Information Minister Iyad Madani announced on January 30, 2008 a ban on all live broadcasts on Saudi public television. The announcement came two days after some viewers phoned in with critical comments about senior Saudi government officials, including the King, to a live program on the state-owned al-Ikhbariya news channel. The station’s director, Muhammad al-Tunsi, was dismissed. Click here for more information.
· The Interior Ministry confirmed on December 31, 2007 that Saudi blogger Ahmad al-Farhan was detained for questioning. Al-Farhan, who used his blog to criticize corruption and call for political reform, was arrested on December 10 “for violating rules not related to state security,” according to the ministry spokesman. Saudi authorities also blocked access to the leading blog publishing service, Blogger.com. The Saudi government's official “internet blacklist” contains more than 400,000 websites, including political, religious, and pornographic sites. Click here for more information.
· President of the National Society for Human Rights Bandar al-Hajjar announced on January 5, 2008 that Saudi Arabia is moving toward incorporating a human rights curriculum into its higher education system. During the past year, the organization has established a human rights library in Riyadh and a data center for human rights research.
· The Saudi Shura Council approved on December 31, 2007 a draft civil society law that will regulate civil society organizations in Saudi Arabia. The law—the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia—calls for the establishment of a “National Authority for Civil Society Organizations” to supervise the activities of NGOs. The draft law is currently under discussion in cabinet. Click here an Arabic summary of the draft law.
State Institutions/ Separation of Powers
· The Quran and the Sunna constitute the effective constitution of Saudi Arabia. The Basic law (Nizam), a series of laws issued by King Fahd in 1992, serves as an informal constitution. The government-appointed clergy act as the nominal arbiters of constitutional matters, but the king retains absolute authority to determine the outcome of constitutional disputes.
Executive Branch
· The king is the head of state. He:
- Rules by decree in accordance with Islamic law (Sharia) and with the consensus of senior princes and religious officials.
- Performs legislative and executive functions.
- Acts as the ultimate source of judicial power. Through a royal order he can introduce new laws, amend existing laws or reinterpret them.
- Is the commander in chief of the armed forces. Appoints officers and revokes their duties.
- Is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
- Approves and amends international treaties, agreements and regulations by decree.
- Approves all decisions of the Council of Ministers.
· There are no institutional checks on royal authority. The king is somewhat constrained by Islamic law—the importance of attaining consensus among royal family members, and the tradition of consultation—but in practice there is little accountability and he has wide-ranging discretion.
· Crown Prince Abdullah acceded to the throne in August 2005 following the death of King Fahd, who occupied the throne between 1982 and 2005. Crown Prince Abdullah had acted as de facto regent since King Fahd’s stroke in 1995.
· The prime minister:
- Is the head of the Council of Ministers.
- Can veto any decision of the Council of Ministers.
- Appoints and removes deputy prime ministers, ministers, and other members of the Council of Ministers by royal order.
- Has the right to dissolve and reorganize the Council of Ministers.
· The Council of Ministers authority is defined by the 1958 Law of the Council of Ministers, which was subsequently amended in 1961, 1964, 1971, and 1975. Most of these amendments solidify the king’s authority.
· The Council of Ministers:
- Consists of the king, the crown prince, three royal advisers who hold official positions as ministers of state, five other ministers of state, and the heads of the twenty ministries. The commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard, the governors of Medina, Mecca, Riyadh, and the Eastern Province, as well as the governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) and the head of the General Petroleum and Mineral Organization (Petromin) hold ministerial rank and are members of the Council of Ministers.
- Has responsibility for drafting and overseeing the implementation of internal, external, financial, economic, education and defense policies, and general affairs of state.
- Has authority in financial matters, approving the annual budget and development plan.
- Can propose legislation, and approve draft laws, concessions and international agreements, which come into effect when they are ratified by the king. In practice, the king often passes and amends laws without first submitting them to the Council of Ministers.
- Imposes taxes and decides on the sale, lease and disposal of government property.
· The deliberations of the Council of Ministers take place behind closed doors. Its decisions are made public except for those which are considered to be secret by the Council.
· The term in office of the Council of Ministers runs for up to four years, during which it can be reformed by a royal order.
· Saudi Arabia’s defense forces consist of the armed forces, which report to the defense minister, and the National Guard. The National Guard is responsible for internal security, including the protection of the royal family and the prevention of military coups. While Abdullah was Crown Prince the National Guard served as a counterweight to the regular army and as his basis of support.
· Reforms Under Discussion
- Saudi King Abdullah issued a royal decree on October 8, 2007 outlining regulations to implement the October 2006 succession law aimed at ensuring a smooth transition of power. The succession law created a committee, to be comprised of sons and grandsons of Abdul Aziz al-Saud, the Kingdom’s founder, to select crown princes, thus future kings. The new rules will not apply to succession after King Abdullah, who has already chosen Prince Sultan al-Saud to follow him. Succession in the past has been decided by a small group of powerful royals; the new procedures aim to broaden the process.
Legislative Branch
· Saudi Arabia lacks a standard legislature. It only has a Consultative Council.
· The Consultative Council (Majlis al-Shura) was established by royal decree under the 1992 Consultative Council Law.
· The Consultative Council:
- Consists of 150 members selected by the king. They cannot include princes or serving ministers. Members serve for four-year terms. When a new Consultative Council is formed, at least half of those appointed must be new members.
- Can be restructured and dissolved by the king.
- Has historically acted mainly in an advisory capacity, debating, rejecting and amending government-proposed legislation.
- Was given the power to initiate legislation by a 2003 royal decree. The decree also amended the Council’s charter so that in the event of disagreement it would have the opportunity to respond to the government's arguments, leaving the king as final arbiter and decision-maker.
- Adopts its decisions by an absolute majority. Its decisions are then transmitted back to the Council of Ministers which also has to decide on the same issues. In case of agreement between the two councils, the law is promulgated on the king’s consent. In case of disagreement the king is free to make a decision.
- Pronounces the general plan of economic and social development, laws, regulations, concessions, international treaties and agreements and annual reports submitted by ministries and other government agencies.
- Can hold ministries accountable in relation to their spending, but has no role in shaping the budget.
- Is required to operate on a special budget approved by the King, following rules set forth by a royal order.
· Reforms Under Discussion
- In October 2003, the Saudi press reported that the government would conduct elections for one third of the members of the Consultative Council within three years. Discussion about possible, at least partial, elections to the council has resumed after the fourth expansion of the council membership to 150 in April 2005. The government has issued no official pronouncements on the subject.
Judiciary
· Saudi Arabia’s legal system is based primarily on the principles of the Sharia. The Judiciary issues its rulings on the basis of what is stated in the Quran and in the Sunna. Sharia laws are supplemented by laws legislated by the government.
· The king is responsible for the implementation of judicial rulings.
· The Justice Ministry disciplines judges.
· The judiciary is subject to the influence of the royal family. Provincial governors (most of whom are members of the royal family) have the authority to exercise leniency and reduce a judge’s sentence.
· Codes
- The Judicial Law of 1975:
- Vests the authority of the Judiciary in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) which is empowered to appoint, promote and transfer judges.
- Declares the judiciary independent. Judges are to be subject only to the dictates of Sharia and the law.
- Requires trials to be held publicly.
- The Statute on Imprisonment and Detention of 28 May 1978: bans torture.
- The Statute of Principles of Arrest, Temporary Confinement and Preventive Detention, was issued on 11 November 1983. It:
- Is the main law regulating this area of the criminal justice system. Includes most detailed legislation on the rules of arrest and detention.
- Prohibits arbitrary arrest. Authorities are not supposed to detain suspects for longer than three days before charging them.
- The Law of Procedure Before Sharia Courts of September 2001:
- Grants defendants the right to legal representation.
- Outlines the process by which pleas, evidence and experts are heard by the court.
- The Code of Law Practice of January 2002:
- Outlines the requirements necessary to become an attorney and defines the duties and rights of lawyers, including the right of attorney-client privilege.
- The Criminal Procedure Law of May 2002:
- Protects a defendant’s rights with regard to interrogation, investigation, and incarceration.
- Outlines a series of regulations that justice and law enforcement authorities must follow during all stages of the judicial process, from arrest and interrogation, to trial and execution verdicts.
- Prohibits torture, protects the rights of suspects to obtain legal council and limits arbitrary detention to five days.
- Criminal laws are vague and open to wide interpretation by judges. For example charges of “sabotage” and “corruption on earth” are not clearly defined even though they carry the death penalty.
- Has not been observed in practice:
- The system lacks safeguards and procedures to guarantee a fair trial. Hearings are often held in camera; there are summary court sessions in political cases and in cases of people charged with crimes punishable by death, amputation or flogging. Trials are normally held without counsel.
- In criminal cases detention is often extended in order to extract a confession and then proceed to trial. In the majority of political cases detainees are pressured to give information about their political beliefs and activities, and about other people working with them. They are usually made aware that their release is conditional on their repenting of their previous activities and on their signing an undertaking to cease these activities.
- Arbitrary arrest, particularly of suspected political and religious opponents of the government, is practiced. It is facilitated by the wide powers of arrest enjoyed by numerous bodies acting without judicial authority. These bodies include al-Shurta (the public security police), al-Mabahith al Amma (General Investigations) and religious police known as al-Mutawaeen or Hay’at al-amr bilmaruf wan nahi an al-munkar, (the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice). The first two are accountable to the Minister of the Interior. Al-Mutawaeen, which is mandated to ensure strict adherence to established codes of conduct, is in theory a semi-autonomous agency, but in practice works closely with the police and the governors of the localities. It is required to hand suspects over to the public security police after questioning.
· Courts
- There are four tiers of Sharia Courts, which hear cases involving criminal, family, personal injury, and property matters. Sharia courts fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice, which was established in 1970.
- Limited or Summary Courts are empowered to hear civil and criminal cases in which the maximum penalty is limited. Cases handled in the summary courts can be appealed to the appeals court. Civil claims are often first filed with the Amarah, which will attempt to resolve the dispute by settlement. If a settlement is not possible, the case will be submitted to the courts.
- The general courts are the courts of first instance for all matters falling outside the jurisdiction of the Limited Courts. The jurisdiction of the General Courts extends to cases involving crime, tort action, personal and family law, and real estate. Cases handled in the general courts can be appealed to the Appeals Court.
- The Appeals Court is comprised of three departments: the penal suits, the personal status suits, and all other types of suits. The Appeals Court is presided by the chief justice and a panel of several qadis (judges). For most matters, the Court of Appeals represents the final court of appeal.